All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well

Entries tagged with snowflake_challenge

Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them. Afterwards,leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!"

I think I've done a pretty good job of accomplishing this thanks to st_aurafina's great friending meme, so I will count this as done. I still want to read through the comments and add more people, though. Even on the Internet, socializing can be hard. I tend to be the type of person who keeps to herself and is just happy to read what others have written. I've spent several years of my life just lurking in the shadows, but I'm glad that I've tried to reach out to people and make connections as well.

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Includea link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Yay, goals! I was going to post about them sooner or later. I didn't do a great job at keeping my goals for last year, but I did make some good progress, and I am happy with everything that I accomplished last year. I don't want to make the exact same goals this year, but some of them will probably be the same.

In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This... is hard! To be honest, there are so many creative works that have changed my life in some positive way. I could list so many! In fact, that is what draws me to storytelling in the first place. I am an English major because I believe in the power of stories and creativity to change minds and hearts. It may sound silly, but I'm going to talk about Digimon now.

It's already a few days into 2017, so I think it's time to dust off this old journal and post for once! Since I enjoyed doing snowflake_challenge so much last year, I think it will be a great way to start off this new year in a positive light.

Day 1

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks youfeel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post ifyou feel comfortable doing so.

I felt a bit weird about this challenge this year because I have yet to write something substantial, but I understand that is not the point of this challenge. Still, it should be pretty easy to rec my stuff this year because I believe that I have nearly everything reposted on AO3.

In your own space, talk about what you're taking away from this challenge. Did you learn something? Did you interact with new people? Or did you try outdifferent fandoms or formats or relationships? What's changed between Day 1 and Day 15 of this challenge? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it.Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

It's the last day of January 2016, so it seems like a good time to finish up this challenge.

I definitely interacted with new people. I tried my best to read and comment to other people because I liked how this challenge could bring people together across different fandoms. I wrote way more than I would have done otherwise, so I am grateful for that. Now, I have over a dozen entries which wouldn't have existed if I hadn't participated in this challenge. I even wrote and posted my first Night Vale fic! I signed up for chocolateboxcomm--which reminds me that I really need to finish that up. Most of all, I learned that Dreamwidth is what you make it. Before this challenge, I was beginning to think that there wasn't enough excitement on DW/LJ to keep me here. I have been inspired to reach out and discover the things that are going on here. It may not be as busy as when everyone was posting about snowflake_challenge, but it's more of an active and welcoming community than I realized. This was my first time participating in the challenge, and I'm already looking forward to doing it next year. :) I hope the year-round challenge can get off the ground too, but I haven't been keeping up with that as much as I would like.

Is fanart about the Avengers being fluffy and domestic your jam? Are tentacle fics your thing? How about podfics that have characters talking dirty? Isyour Pinterest filled with images of knitted fanart? Make a post about it! Squee to your heart's content, tell us why you love it, gives us some examples.

Then, leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. You might be surprised to find outthat other people are head over heels about those things too. :D

I had to look through a few of the other posts, but I finally feel like I have an answer: AUs.

I haven't read as much of them as I would like to say, but I love the idea of wondering "what if" or putting our beloved characters in different situations. How would they react if this, this, and this were different? If you're not happy with canon, fix it. If you are happy with canon, imagine how it would be if it had gone in a different direction. I love any kind of AU--no matter how far they deviate from the source material. Sure, there are some fandoms where I'd rather see something set in canon, but for the most part, I enjoy the chance to see what kinds of new situations and worlds the characters can inhabit. This is probably one of the tropes I've loved the longest because I would always love to let my childish imagination wonder what would happen next or how the story would be different if something else had happened.

I think what really got me interested in AUs was the Phantom of the Opera modern retellings, especially those of Quiet2885. There really is not enough time in canon to squeeze in too much fic. You could set it before Raoul appears, but Christine doesn't meet Erik face-to-face (or, in this case, face-to-mask) until after that. If you are an Erik/Christine shipper at all, you need to make it an AU because no matter how much Love Never Dies wants to tell us otherwise, they do not end up together. That's not even taking into consideration the original Leroux novel. When All is Lost is the longest fic I've ever read, and it is pure AU. Although I haven't read it in about five years, I remember loving it to bits at the time.

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to yourpost if you feel comfortable doing so.

Better late than never is in the spirit of snowflake_challenge. In fact, they wouldn’t even consider this late because it is such a laid-back challenge, so here are my recs. Since this week was a little overwhelming, I decided to save this post for the weekend. Anyway, I will rec more than three things because of the delay and my enthusiasm for this challenge.

In your own space, make a list of at least 3 things that you like about yourself. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to yourpost if you feel comfortable doing so.

Be kind to yourself today. Say some nice things about yourself, without any caveats.

This kind of thing is slowly becoming easier for me as I learn to recognize and appreciate my strengths.

1. My resilience: There have been so many times when I wanted to give up or could have given up. In fact, there were times when I did give up for a while, but I never let it stay that way even if it wasn't easy. I continue to pursue my dreams even though the path has been twisted and forked to the point that it has led me through territory I never thought I'd cover. At times, I have struggled with depression and anxiety that felt soul-crushing, but I never let either of those things destroy me. Now, I realize that some of my best experiences come from times that felt both good and bad in the moment. If I hadn't stuck it out through the difficult times, I would have never experienced the high points. It's this quality that allowed me to sit through my two-hour Intermediate Spanish class tonight even though I felt like running away or hiding under the desk.

2. My intelligence: I am a self-proclaimed Ravenclaw, so of course this is important to me. ;) It's not just the knowledge that I've obtained but the curiosity that has led me there. I'm proud of my grades and what I have accomplished because of them.

3. My writing: I can now call myself an award-winning writer, but I'm just happy that I'm still writing. after all of these years. I'm proud of where my writing has taken me for the last three years. I realize that each attempt is one step toward becoming better and remembering that I have words worth sharing.

I just realized that I typed "words worth" and immediately thought of Wordsworth. It must be my subconscious trying to get me to think more about poetry.

Day 12

What makes you fannish? And by that we mean, what is it about a tv show/movie/book/band/podcast/etc that takes you from, "Yeah, I like that," to "I needMOAR!!!" Is it a character? A plotline? The pretty? Subtext that’s just screaming to be acknowledged?

In your own space, tell us what it is that gets you to cross that line into fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to yourpost if you feel comfortable doing so.

There usually has to be at least one character or characters that appeal to me. I feel like I need to have someone to root for. I'm trying to think of examples where the plot has been more appealing to me than the characters, but in those cases, it seems like I would be less fannish. I love a good plot and a world that I can play around in as much as the next fan, but I feel that the characters can make up for a lack of those things. I'm not so sure that a good plot or world-building can make up for not liking the characters. As soon as I start enjoying a new fandom, I'm trying to pick out who will be my favorite character. It's typically that love of characters that drives me to seek out fanworks.

Day 10In your own space, post a rec for fannish and/or creative resources and spaces. Tell us where you go to dig up canon facts for your fandom, or where youget all the juicy details about your favorite ship. Where do you like to hang out and squee like a squeeing thing? Leave a comment in this post sayingyou did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This day's challenge puzzled me at first because I don't know what I can say that isn't blatantly obvious. Maybe that's incentive to check out other people's posts. Anyway, DW and AO3 are my fannish homes at the moment. I have a tumblr, but I visit it rather infrequently because of the pic-spammy nature of that site. I still go to FFNet on occasion. I know that there is still good stuff there, but it's kind of overwhelming to search through everything. I think it was this year that I finally realized you can order results based on the number of reviews or favorites, so I have been trying that to help. It's not a guarantee of quality, but it can make finding something easier. I still prefer Ao3 because I find it to be a more comfortable place and easier to use.

I use Twitter when I want to keep up with official fannish news. The Daily Dot and The Mary Sue are useful to find news and meta. The AV Club is a great place to go for reviews. The Nerdist and Den of Geekare worth a mention for a mixture of both. I follow all of these on Twitter, so that's why they are all lumped together. ;)

TV Tropes is probably the first place that I go when I get into a new fandom. It helps me pick up on details that I may have missed and see what other people think about the fandom or characters. It has also been useful to find fanfic recs, and I would like to see their fanfic rec pages get more attention. A lot of the Night Vale fics that I have listed as recs were found there.

of course, fandom-specific wikis are a great resources as well, but I won't take the time to list them all. They are very easy to find through Google. I will give a shout-out to Fanlore, which has helped me learn about many fannish things.

Speaking of Dreamwidth, I just went over to fandom_stocking and said thank you to everyone for all of my gifts. I loved everything, and more importantly, I loved the generosity of people who took the time to create something for me or give me holiday greetings. As it is, my stocking got more attention than I was expecting. I just wish I had made the time to gift something in return.

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Includea link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I've been meaning to write up a New Year's resolution post, so I'm glad that this was today's challenge.

I could put more, but it's good to start small, isn't it? I will have my hands full with these goals already, and any additional goals could probably fit under the above categories. At least I know that many of these goals are common, so I won't be alone in trying to live a better life in 2016.

Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them. Afterwards,leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!"

You see what I mean?

Chances are a lot of you have already completed today's challenge because of all your interactions with other participants in the past week. So you cango ahead and post Done! and enjoy the rest of the day.

That said, what if you want to add more sparkle to the challenge? Well, how about leaving feedback on that one fanwork (fic, podfic, fanart, fanvid, metapost, knitting pattern, etc.) that you've always loved in a lurk-ey way? People love getting feedback on their creations--yes, even if it's something theyposted way back in the pre-Geocities era. *g*

Another option is to follow/subscribe/grant access to someone you want to get to know better on whichever platform you prefer.

The point is to reach out to someone you normally wouldn't and connect with them, even if it's only for the briefest moment.

As shown by the increase of my comments over the last few days, I have been trying to interact with new people over the course of this challenge, so I'm considering this one done. I hope to continue doing this in the remaining days of the challenge. I can't believe that snowflake_challenge is more than halfway over, but I've loved participating and posting every day.

I will try to add the sparkle to this challenge as well because everything is better with sparkles. ^_^ I don't know about pre-Geocities days, but I certainly remember Geocities. I used to go there to find Pokemon/Digimon/Yu Yu Hakusho sites back in the day. I read a lot of fanfic there once upon a time.

In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explainwhy you love it so much. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm running low on time and willpower, so I'm going to make this post quick. I was going to make a big elaborate post, but this will have to do for now.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is probably my favorite book in the series. I just love the idea of travelling to other worlds (see also Doctor Who). The Wood Between the Worlds always fascinated me and sparked my imagination. What if they had jumped in more pools and visited even more worlds? I was also fascinated by the dead world of Charn and what took place there. This book always filled me with the sense of wonder that I love to find in fantasy. I know that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the most well-known of the series, but I have always liked this one better.

This isn’t my absolute favorite or my newest fandom, but it’s practically my oldest if you count my days before the Internet. Anyway, I was thinking about this a lot as I was writing my chocolateboxcomm letter because this is one of the fandoms that I am requesting. :D

In your own space, create your own challenge. What’s something you want to see more people doing in fandom? Is there something you’ve tried that you thinkother people would enjoy if they gave it a go? Dare your friends to try it out, and have fun with it. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Includea link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

To be honest, this is kind of hard. What do I want to have more people doing in the fannish world? Well, this is a new year, so it's the perfect time to try new things. I was finally able to sign up for chocolateboxcomm, a multifandom fic and art exchange. I am still in the process of editing my sign up and thinking about writing a letter for it, but the point is that I've never participated in an exchange before. I wanted to participate in Yuletide, but I was too busy/intimidated at the time to do so. Even though I missed out on that opportunity, I took advantage of this new one.

My challenge is to try something new in the fannish world. Make afanwork in a fandom you have never created in before, or try a new type of fanwork altogether. Is there a fandom that everyone's been talking about that you haven't tried yet? Give it a try. Heck, participate in the above fic exchange if you are so inclined (although I must warn you that the deadline for sign ups is tomorrow). Start playing Falen London because before that was what was consuming my mind before this challenge. Do anything you want as long as it's new to you. Kudos will be given if you feel like posting about it here.

I got this idea from analise010, so I will give credit where credit is due.

Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork.The key is to leave some sort of feedback.

If you've already left feedback in the course of a previous challenge, it totally counts. But you're free to leave more feedback.

Afterwards, leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!" If you feel so inclined, leave a link to the fanwork you left feedback forso others can check it out.

I did it! I left a review for this gen TFA fic. There are still a ton of other fics that I want to read and review, though. I want to read more Yuletide and some of the other things that have been posted to snowflake_challenge when I get the chance. I may update this post if I review anything else today.

In your own space, create a fanwork. Make a drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Draft a critical essayabout a particular media. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of a Broadway show, a movie, a concert, a poetry reading, a museum trip, ayou-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Compose some limericks, haikus, free-form poetry, 5-word stories. Document a particular bit of real personcanon. Take some pictures. Draw a stick-figure comic. Create something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post ifyou feel comfortable doing so.

I love this challenge so much because of the sheer variety of fanworks allowed. That being said, I have a regular old fanfic to share for this one. I wrote it last night with this challenge in mind, but I did not realize that this would be the challenge for day four. I'm so happy that I posted my first Night Vale fic even if it is short.

Waiting for the Bus in the Rain (344 words) by KomadoriChapters: 1/1Fandom: Welcome to Night ValeRating: General AudiencesWarnings: No Archive Warnings ApplyRelationships: Cecil/CarlosCharacters: Cecil Palmer, Carlos the ScientistAdditional Tags: AU, Ficlet, cecilos - Freeform, Rain, Caught in the Rain, First Meeting, beginning of a relationship, Oneshot, A Gentle Fall of Rain, HomesicknessSummary:

AU Cecil finds himself in a strange city when it starts to rain.

If I come up with anything else, I'll add it here. This challenge has me inspired!

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks youfeel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post ifyou feel comfortable doing so.

This is actually much easier than yesterday's challenge. It's not that I have so many fanworks that I'm proud of, but I have so few fanworks to choose from. I guess this is another reminder that I should write more.

Their Dark Waltz - I wrote this during the height of my Phantom of the Opera obsession. I fell for this fandom fast and hard after I saw the musical, but this was the only offspring of that love that ever saw the light of day. I was very proud of it at the time, and looking back on the reviews, people seemed to like it as well. Now, I'm a little worried that it may have come a little too close to purple prose at points, but I wanted the story to have a dream-like quality. I was actually much more of an Erik/Christine shipper, but I had no problem with writing Erik/Meg. Since I wrote it so long ago, I never imported it to AO3. Maybe I should do so. I also thought of continuing it. I always imagined a second chapter about Meg and Erik's relationship where she tries to fill Christine's shoes. Then, the third chapter would be about Meg and Erik getting married and Christine serving as a witness.

The Bings' First Family Christmas - Who would have ever thought that I would write Friends fanfic? If I can get my muse to cooperate, there will be more where that came from. Anyway, I felt confident writing this because I've watched Friends reruns so many times. The idea came to me when I was watching said reruns late at night, and I just had to write it. Once again, I never imported it to AO3. I'm proud of it because it managed to evoke that cute quality I had in mind. This is Chandler/Monica fluff, btw.

Pansy's Pet - For once, this is something that is actually on AO3, which is strange because I wrote it before either of the above fics. Since I originally posted it on LJ for a hp100 drabble challenge, it was easy to import. Anyway, this is one-sided Draco/Hermione. I'm not really into the ship, but the idea just caught me. I'm proud of it because of how I interpreted the "pet" prompt.

Since all creative works are allowed, I will include some non-fics as well...

My fic recs on AO3 - At least, this is how I think you link to recs on AO3. There may be some regular old bookmarks thrown in, but I loved all of my recs. Go read them!

My GoodReads reviews - I don't write reviews for every book or even close to it, but I'm trying to do more reviews. It would be nice to know that people are actually reading them. Anyway, you will need a GoodReads account in order to read them if you are interested.

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannishwish-list of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone willgrant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

Okay, let's see... *deep breath*

1. More delicious friends to play with on Fallen London. My profile is here. :D I'm still fairly new to the game. To be honest, I started playing in late October, and I still don't always know what I am doing. I have been learning from the wikis slowly but surely, though.

2. Image descriptions for icons. People on Dreamwidth are already good at doing this, but I'd just like to keep encouraging the practice. In particular, it might be nice to find some icons with image descriptions that I could use. The only reason that I have icons right now is that I inadvertently imported them from LJ when I imported my old entries to this journal. They are all old icons that I picked out when my visual impairment was not as severe, and it would be nice to have some new ones for my newer fandoms that enable me to actually know everything that's in the picture. I would especially like to have something for Twitter or tumblr, so they will stop asking me to upload a picture. I know that this is kind of an odd request. I'm not even sure about how important icons are to me at this point, but it would be nice to have the option. You don't need to make new icons or anything, but if you point me in the direction of icons with image descriptions, that would be great.

3. fandom_stocking is a wonderful thing. I should have mentioned this before, but I've seen others mention it when they did this challenge. This seems like as good a time as any to do so. Anyway, please check it out if you haven't already and stuff some stockings. My stocking is here in case you're interested. I filled out the form really quickly and didn't take the time to include all of my fandom wishes and likes, but anything you can give is welcome. I haven't stuffed anyone's stocking yet, but I hope that I can do it. If we have any fandoms in common, feel free to comment about your stockings here, and I can try to give you something.

In your own space, talk about why you are doing the Fandom Snowflake Challenge? What drew you to it as a participant? What do you hope to accomplish bydoing these challenges? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

It is one of my New Year's resolutions to post/write more, so this seemed like the perfect way to start. This will be my first time participating. Before I ever made an account on Dreamwidth, I used to lurk around on other people's journals, and this challenge always looked interesting and fun to do. I joined DW back in the summer of 2013, but I'm not sure why I never participated in this before. I guess I just kept forgetting about it. Anyway, I love the sense of community that fandom brings, and I'm trying to get into it more. When I don't have something creative to pour my heart and imagination into, I feel lost. College has helped fill that void, but I'm hoping that fandom can help fulfill that need as well for this year.

I also love the name of this challenge! I love anything that is evocative of winter or snow even though snowflakes are nonexistent in my part of the country. "Snowflake" brings to mind all of the creativity and uniqueness that we can bring to fandom as individuals. Maybe that's a silly sentiment, but the name of this challenge always brings warmth to my heart nonetheless.